Former Kentucky swimmer and vocal anti-trans activist Riley Gaines has joined the Scripps National Spelling Bee over what she sees as a capitulation to “made-up issues” in gender politics.
Gaines expressed outrage after it was revealed that the competition’s study list for third graders included the word “womyn” as an alternate spelling for the word “women.”
The word ‘womyn’, a spelling that has its origins in feminist movements as an attempt to distance the term from its perceived association with the word ‘man’.
Gaines overturned the decision of the spelling bee organizers who appeared Fox Newswith the decision described as a symptom of a wider cultural decline.
“How lucky we are to live in the United States of America, where the spelling of women, regardless of definition, has become a national debate,” she said exasperatedly.
“These are made-up issues created by people who think they are marginalized or oppressed – and who I believe, quite frankly, want to be oppressed, when in reality they [they] live in the greatest country in the world. Totally manufactured outrage.’
Scripps claims that the “womyn” variant of the word comes from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, which the competition uses for its official lexicon.
Indeed, the dictionary lists “womyn” as a spelling “used in some feminist contexts.”
Former Kentucky swimmer and vocal anti-trans activist Riley Gaines has joined the Scripps National Spelling Bee over what she sees as a capitulation to “made-up issues” in gender politics.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee included the word “womyn” as a permitted alternate spelling for the word “women”
Scripps has defended its choice to include the word, while emphasizing that any spelling not marked as archaic or obsolete in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary can be used in the competition.
“When compiling our study lists, we strive to include alternate spellings for all words found in Merriam-Webster,” a Scripps spokesperson said.
The Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary is the final authority and sole source for the spelling of all words submitted in competition.”
But Gaines, who gained national attention for her outspoken opposition to trans swimmer Lia Thomas, sees the inclusion of “womyn” as part of a deeper cultural problem.
Drawing parallels to other high-profile cultural controversies, she also referenced the backlash over Budweiser’s 2023 collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, dismissing it as another example of corporate pandering.
Gaines mockingly described Mulvaney as “a guy they dressed up as Audrey Hepburn.”
Gaines’ advocacy for biological women in sports has made her a conservative political star
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer, is campaigning against allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s sports. She was pictured in May this year
Gaines mockingly described Mulvaney as “a guy they dressed up as Audrey Hepburn.”
Riley Gaines tied with trans woman Lia Thomas in the 200 Freestyle final of the 2022 NCAA Championships. Gaines gained national attention for her vocal opposition to Thomas
The alternate spelling also led to a hypothetical scenario from Gaines, who wondered how a kid in the competition would respond when asked to define “women.”
“Imagine a child understanding the word ‘women’ and asking for the definition,” she joked.
“It would be a wonderful full-circle moment, because people with little to no common sense have been unable to answer that question for years.”
While Gaines believes the word’s inclusion is part of a broader cultural debate, Scripps reiterated that the inclusion of “womyn” is neither a political statement nor an attempt to wade into a controversial discussion of gender discourse.